Composite container



May 23, 1968 P. w. STUMP 3,335,503

COMPOS ITE CONTAINER Filed June 2, 1966 )HH l0 /2 32 25 3O Fig.4

PAUL M35515; Fi .3

9 BY: 5? 7L% ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,385,503 COMPOSITE CONTAINER Paul W. Stump, North Olmsted, Ohio, assignor to Cleveland Container Corp., Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Filed June 2, 1966, Ser. No. 554,748 2 Claims. (Cl. 229-15 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A composite container formed of an outer cylindrical housing, end covers, and an inner receptacle at an end of the outer container to provide separate compartments for the container contents.

This invention relates to containers, and more particularly to containers having a plurality of compartments which may hold separate ingredients.

Composite containers which include two or more separate receptacles each of which can be easily opened have many uses. For example, some present-day packaged foods of the ready-to-cook or ready-to-eat variety have a main ingredient and a topping packaged together in the same container for convenience. A main package may contain the dry mix and another package in the same container may contain a topping for the food that is to be formed from the dry mix. Also, it is frequently desirable to mix ingredients together that have been stored in separate compartments of the same container.

Containers having a separate loose package within the main package are inconvenient in that the inside package becomes soiled with the ingredient that is contained loose by the larger package. Also, it must be set aside while the material that is loose in the larger package is used. Furthermore, this manner of packaging the two different ingredients is expensive in that two separate containers are required for the two different ingredients and each container must be separately sealed. Containers that may be opened at two ends and have a separator mounted to the container Walls between the ends to form two compartments are also expensive to make and to fill. They become difiicult to handle if the wrong end is opened first. At times the container becomes deformed from Inishandling or from internal pressure causing the seal between the separator and the container walls to be broken.

The container of this invention removes many of the above difficulties. It provides a single package for containing two ingredients separate from each other. The ingredients may be easily removed from different ends of the package as they are needed. The container is easily fabricated and is economical. A positive seal is formed between compartments which seal resists breaking from forces that bulge the container.

This container preferably includes a cylindrical main body which may be formed from wound plies glued together and overlapped to form lap joints. One end of the outer housing may have a metal seam and is closed by a suitable metal lid.

A cup-shaped receptacle having cylindrical sides with an outer diameter slightly less than the inner diameter of the housing is inserted into the housing to form a separate compartment. The edges of the open end of the receptacle are flanged to overlie the end of the housing as a support for holding the inner receptacle. A suitable metal cover closes this end of the housing and the inner receptacle.

One of the outstanding features of the invention is provided by having the closure overlie both the housing and the inner receptacle. When the flanges of the cover 3,385,503 Patented May 28, 1968 are crimped, the receptacle and housing are forced together in a tight seal so that both an end seal for the container and a seal between the compartments are formed. The crimped flanges compress the paperboard housing to form an air tight seal for the composite container with the compressed paperboard acting as a gasket. Both ends of the main container can be opened and are preferably of the pull-tab type.

Topping for dessert may be contained in the cup-like receptacle and the dry mix may be contained in the remainder of the housing. One end of the housing may be opened first and the dry mix removed. After the dry mix has been prepared, the other end of the housing may be opened to remove the topping from the cup-shaped receptacle. This provides a very convenient manner of using ingredients stored in the package. Furthermore, the compartments are sturdy and unlikely to break during handling of the package or because of internally generated pressure. The package itself is strong and economical. The cup-like receptacle is more easily assembled to the housing than a flat dividing wall. The seam that closes the top of the container and the cup-like receptacle forms a seal against the paperboard walls of the container by compressing the walls. The bottom of the cup can be broken to mix the ingredients directly in the container.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved container.

The above features and many other advantages of the invention will be understood more fully from the following detailed description when considered with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the container of this invention with a broken-away section;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the receptacle which may be used in the embodiment of this invention;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the longitudinal axes of an embodiment of this invention to show the main housing and the inner receptacle; and,

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the mounting for the receptacle of FIG. 2 in the main container.

In FIGURE 1 a perspective view of a package that is an embodiment of this invention is shown having an outer housing 10 which may include a three-ply helically wound container wall in the form of a right cylinder. A cup-shaped receptacle 12 is shown mounted inside the housing 10 and having walls adjacent to and parallel with the housing 10. The walls have a flanged end 14. Alternatively, the housing and receptacle may have other shapes known in the art, for example, formed tapered cups.

The flange is substantially radially disposed to overlie one end 15 of the housing when the receptacle is inserted. An end cap 18 has a flanged part 16 which overlies the flange 14 of the cup 12 and the end 15 of the housing 10. When the flanged part 16 is crimped, the cup flange 14 is deformed somewhat over the end 15 of the housing 10. Portions of the housing adjacent the end 15 of the receptacle 12 are compressed together by the crimping of the flanged part 16 sealing the end of the housing and the separate compartments provided by the receptacle.

The other end of the housing 10 opposite the end 15 is closed in the conventional manner by an end cap 20 to provide a metal seam 21. The caps 18, 20 include tabtype openers 22, only one of which is shown, for pulling free a metal portion of the cap that has been weakened by being partially cut by a die to form shallow grooves 24, as can be best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The top 20 may be opened and a dry mix contained in a portion of the housing 10 may be emptied out and prepared. Later, the top 18 may be opened and a topping may be removed from the receptacle 12. In this way both types of foods are maintained in a single package until used. The receptacle 12 is sturdy and will not break to prematurely mix the contents of the package. Furthermore, the package is easily fabricated and filled. Also the end 18 may be opened and the bottom of the cup 12 may be broken with any suitable hard object such as a kitchen tool. The ingredients can then be mixed in the main compartment. After mixing they can be removed through either end.

In FIGURE 2 a perspective view of the inner receptacle 12 is shown having the flanged edge 14 around its open end. The inner receptacle 18 may be shaped as a closed right cylinder with a wall concentric with the cylindrical walls of the housing and adjacent to it or may assume other shapes such as a taper. It may be of plastic or metal. If the receptacle 12 is of a metal, an inner coating 26 may be provided from a plastic such as vinyl chloride. This coating provides reduced friction for toppings so that they may be easily removed from the receptacle.

The outer housing may be formed of three plies helically or spirally wound in the same direction and at the same angle. They are glued together to form a strong moisture and water-proof body. The inner ply 28 is preferably composed of an aluminum foil prelaminated to a paper backing in the usual manner. Its edges are overlapped to prevent leakage. The second outermost layer 30 is preferably of heavy stock such as kraft paperboard also spirally wound with overlapping edges to provide a main structure ply. Its inner surface is glued to the outer paper surface of the foil ply 28. The third and outermost ply 32 is a thin aluminum-backed paper containing printing and serving as a label. It is glued to the structure ply 30. Also, container constructions such as those disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos. 3,178,087 and 3,072,312 issued in the name of Paul W. Stump for Container and Fluid Containers respectively may be used for the housing of this container.

Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A plural compartment container formed of a relatively stiff cylindrical outer member with a compressible helically-wound multi-ply wall and a relatively stiff cuplike inner member telescoped within and of substantially smaller volume than the outer member and with a U- shaped flange that covers an axially extending flangeless cylindrical end portion of the outer member, serving to close a first end of the outer member and dividing the container into two compartments each of which is constructed to contain and thereby package a product or the like, a cover on an opposite end of the outer member from the inner member and a second cover over the said first end of the outer member and the cup-like inner member, said covers having flange portions that engage and compress axially extending flangeless wall end portions, said second cover having portions in direct engagement with both the outer member and the inner member and serving to seal both with respect to the outside of the container.

2. A container comprising a housing having a cylindrical wall the thickness of which is compressible and formed of plural plies of material including a ply of fibrous material and with first and second ends that are flangeless, a receptacle formed of a wall the thickness of which is relatively non-compressible and having a closed end within the housing and an open end at the said first end of the housing, a cylindrical wall portion of the receptacle which in part forms the open end of the receptacle being tightly encircled by the said first end of the housing, a flange in part forming the open end of the receptacle shaped in cross section to form with a part of the cylindrical wall portion of the receptacle a U -shaped annulus that is over the said first end of the housing with an outer lip encircling the housing end, a cover across the said first end of the housing recessed with respect to the housing and receptacle and having a flange that (a) extends about and covers the flange of the receptacle, (b) is folded around the end portion of the flange forming the outer lip of the U-shaped annulus and (c) lies between the outer lip and the housing wall compressing a ringshaped portion of the wall behind the outer lip of the receptacle flange to tightly seal the cover with the housing and the receptacle, and a cover on the said second end of the housing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,760,761 5/ 1930 March 220-23 X 1,955,745 4/1934 Hurley 229-56 X 2,230,747 2/ 1941 Greene.

2,417,592 3/ 1947 Dwyer.

2,652,148 9/1953 Pfeifer 206-47 2,658,663 11/1953 Reese 229-56 X 2,941,689 6/1960 Black 220-23 2,949,369 8/ 1960 Zoeller 206-47 X 3,156,401 11/ 1964 Krause 229-45 3,176,872 4/ 1965 Zundel 220-54 DONALD F. NORTON, Primary Examiner. 

